Technical Field
This disclosure relates to a document feeder that feeds an original document such as a paper or a recording sheet, and an image forming apparatus such as a copier, facsimile machine, printer, printing machine, and a multi-functional apparatus including at least two functions of the copier, facsimile machine, printer, and printing machine.
Related Art
Various image forming apparatuses such as a copier, a printer, a printing machine, a facsimile machine and so forth are widely known to include a document feeder that conveys an original document. The document feeder feeds an original document loaded on a document loader (for example, a document table) and causes an image reader to read image data of the original document through an exposure glass disposed on a top face of the image forming apparatus while the original document is passing over the exposure glass. Subsequently, the document feeder ejects and stacks the original document on a document ejecting portion (for example, a sheet ejection tray).
Such a known document feeder includes an automatic document feeder (ADF) disposed on an apparatus body of the image forming apparatus to be openable and closable with respect to the image forming apparatus. The known document feeder is hinged to the apparatus body of the image forming apparatus to rotate about one end side in a lateral direction (that is, a direction orthogonal to a document conveying direction) as a center of rotation.
In the document feeder, a sheet conveying guide (for example, a document pressing member or a document guide) is provided movably in a vertical direction at a position facing an exposure glass.
When the original document set on a document loader in the document feeder reaches the position of the exposure glass, the original document is conveyed between the sheet conveying guide and the exposure glass while being guided by the sheet conveying guide.
The above-described document feeder has a technique by which the sheet conveying guide is positioned with respect to the exposure glass by fitting the sheet conveying guide, which is held movably in the vertical direction in the document feeder, into recesses formed on a top face of the image forming apparatus having the exposure glass.
Such a document feeder has high accuracy in positioning an original document with a sheet conveying guide to the exposure glass. However, the accuracy of positioning the document feeder (for example, an automatic document feeder, ADF) to an apparatus body (an image reading device) of the image forming apparatus is likely to decrease.
A mechanism employing hinges to open and close the document feeder with respect to the apparatus body of the image forming apparatus is used to finely adjust the position of the document feeder relative to the apparatus body of the image forming apparatus. Such fine adjustment of the position of the document feeder takes time and effort to detach and attach the document feeder with respect to the apparatus body of the image forming apparatus for maintenance.